The appointed body with power to approve the design of buildings and streetscapes in certain parts of Charlottesville had been expected to weigh in September 15 on a service counter that Sal’s Caffe Italia installed around one of the Downtown Mall trees.
Under the city’s Development Code, staff in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services can approve elements in leased cafe spaces as a “minor historic review,” but an investigation by preservation staff determined the counter did not meet the city’s design criteria.
According to a staff report, city zoning officials saw that construction was taking place in late May and met with Sal’s Giuseppe Finazzo on June 1, while the counter was still being built…